Kate’s 2¢: “Seventeen” by Kimiko Guthrie
The story bounces back and forth from 1939 and 2012, so you can keep track of which time-line yu’re in. Natalie Naudus did a good job of narrating this story that chronicles some of the tribulations the Japanese living in America experienced while in the camps during the war and how those experiences haunt people today. This is an engrossing story that finally comes together with a few surprises.
A few take-aways:
–Memories are random.
–The walnut orchard used to be a strawberry field.
–I wasn’t sure if I was running away from the fire or rushing to something.
–The antlers were gone too, but they weren’t.
–What burglar takes the time to arrange random objects in such a way?
–His suspicions that someone from his work was rummaging through our apartment, hoping to find evidence against him…He was secretly videoing his co-workers.
–Apart from being a funny shade of purple, her baby brother looks peacefully asleep
–I found myself mor exhausted than usual.
http://kimikoguthrie.com/Bio
Kimiko Guthrie grew up in Berkeley, California, dancing like her mother and writing like her father.
Kimiko Guthrie is the cofounder of Dandelion Dance theater and a lecturer at Cal State East Bay. She holds an MFA in choreography from Mills College. Her work has been presented internationally and has received numerous grants and awards. Block Seventeen is her first book.
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Block Seventeen DB101840
Guthrie, Kimiko. Reading time: 10 hours, 0 minutes.
Read by Natalie Naudus.
Psychological Fiction
After working hard to build a quiet, stable life in San Francisco, Akiko “Jane” Thompson’s life falls apart. Her fiancé Shiro risks his job with the TSA to reveal misdeeds and her mother disappears. As Jane searches, she uncovers her family’s history in America. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
Downloaded: April 25, 2024
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by kate
Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “The Great Man” by Kate Christensen
Kate’s 2¢: “The Great Man” by Kate Christensen
“The Great Man” by Kate Christensen
NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares her thoughts about what she reads. Inho…
Martha Harmon Pardee is one of my all-time favorite narrators, so I enjoyed listening to her read this interesting story.
A few take-aways:
–Women are the mystery of life.
–The eye of the beholder is a fickle thing, when the beholder is also the maker.
–If you were a woman, you could never have everything.
–Dragged from the world of painting back into the world of life, was as difficult as forcing herself from the world of life back into the world of painting.
–burke’s portrayal of Feldman is a larger than life, amoral artist.
–Washinton’s Oscar is executed in the primary colors of a Disney cartoon.
–The biographers agree that Feldman had the good sense to be surrounded by women as interesting as he was.
–He couldn’t live without a woman around. They were like water to a plant.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kate Christensen (born August 22, 1962) is an American novelist. She won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her fourth novel, The Great Man, about a painter and the three women in his life.[1] Her previous novels are In the Drink (1999), Jeremy Thrane (2001), and The Epicure’s Lament (2004). Her fifth novel, Trouble (2009), was released in paperback by Vintage/Anchor in June 2010. Her sixth novel, The Astral, was published in hardcover by Doubleday in June 2011. She is also the author of two food-related memoirs, Blue Plate Special (Doubleday, 2013) and How to Cook a Moose (Islandport Press, 2015), the latter of which won the 2016 Maine Literary Award for memoir.[2][dead link]
She is a graduate of Reed College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her essays, articles, reviews, and stories have appeared in many anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Food & Wine, Cherry Bombe, and The Jewish Daily Forward.[2]
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
The great man: a novel DB67289
Christensen, Kate. Reading time: 9 hours, 18 minutes.
Read by Martha Harmon Pardee. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.
Psychological Fiction
The death of New York City painter Oscar Feldman–famous for his female nudes–sends rival biographers Henry Burke and Ralph Washington racing to cover Oscar’s life. Both writers interview Oscar’s three loves–wife, sister, and mistress–who recall complicated relationships with him. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. PEN/Faulkner Award. 2007.
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Comments Off on Kate’s 2¢: “Blinding Light” by Paul Theroux
Kate’s 2¢: “Blinding Light” by Paul Theroux
“Blinding Light” by Paul Theroux
The descriptions of the flora and fauna in this story is remarkable. It is interesting how, when blind-folded to go down the river in a canoe, his senses were heightened.
While I didn’t care for the erotica in this work of fiction, I thought the observations of other people seeing the blind man and then, the actual blind man’s feelings were spot on.
Spoiler alert: I kept reading this story to find out how it ended, only to feel deceived by having the whole thing a drug induced. dream.
Paul Theroux (‘The world’s most perceptive travel writer’–Daily Mail) is the author of many highly acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), The Mosquito Coast (1981) Riding the Iron Rooster (1983), and Mr. Bones: Twenty Stories (2014). In 2015, Paul Theroux was awarded a Royal Medal from the Royal Geographical Society for “the encouragement of geographical discovery through travel writing.” This award, approved by the Queen, is the highest award attainable for a traveler, and Theroux joins the ranks of recipients including Sir Edmund Hillary, Admiral Richard Byrd and Dr. Thor Heyerdahl. His other awards include the American Academy and Institute of Arts & Letters Award for literature; the Whitbread Prize for his novel, Picture Palace; and the James Tait Black Award for The Mosquito Coast. His travelogue, The Old Patagonian Express: By Train through the Americas, and The Mosquito Coast were both nominated for the American Book Award. His novels Saint Jack, The Mosquito Coast, Doctor Slaughter and Half Moon Street have been made into films and his short-story collection London Embassy was adapted for a British mini-series in 1987. Theroux holds honorary doctorates from three American universities and remains a highly sought-after speaker nationwide.
In The New York Times Book Review, Francine Prose called his story collection Mr. Bones “a series of characteristically dark and sharply focused snapshots from the world that Theroux has observed–and invented.” Theroux’s book Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads (2015), was described by Kirkus Reviews in a starred review as “an epically compelling travel memoir,” and a Publishers Weekly starred review called it “Theroux’s best outing in years.” In a starred review, Publishers Weekly describes the essay collection Figures in a Landscape (2018) as “a magisterial grouping of intimate remembrances, globe-trotting adventures, and incisive literary critiques.”
From NLS/BARD/LOC:
Blinding light DB61580
Theroux, Paul. Reading time: 17 hours, 39 minutes.
Read by Gregory Gorton.
Disability
Psychological Fiction
Fifty-year-old Slade Steadman, a one-time bestselling author, becomes addicted to an Ecuadorian drug that temporarily blinds him but provides illuminary vision to write another book. When the blindness prevails, Steadman loses his cocky attitude. Explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. 2005.
Downloaded: April 25, 2024
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